SPECIAL EDITION: 'The 4400' Finale Thrills and Leaves us with Chills!

I know I said that I wasn't going to give you my thoughts on tonight's season finale of USA's The 4400 until Tuesday, but this really couldn't wait. Remember how I said that I would be sitting on my couch Sunday night around 10 p.m. declaring that this season of the sci-fi series was, without a doubt, its best? Well, guess what? It's 10:20 p.m. and I'm now sitting at my computer and I'm declaring it to all of you: this was, indeed, the best season of The 4400! And tonight's AMAZING finale was the cap on a summer-long display of achievement. There were surprises, twists and then there was the last 10 minutes! We're talking Lost proportions! Let me pause for a minute and warn all of you that the following contains major SPOILERS, so please refrain from reading until you've seen this incredible, shocking episode for yourself. Anyway, what the hell happened to Alana at the end??!! The ball of light from the future is back??!! OMG! I knew about Diana leaving as I shared with you on Friday, but Alana's departure was a complete shock. And what about Kyle and April injecting themselves with promicin? With April's luck, she'll be in the unfortunate 50%. And it isn't just Alana's disappearance, Diana's departure and promicin surprises left hanging in the balance because both Shawn and Isabelle are unconscious in the hospital! And how awesome was the fact that the injection only took away Isabelle's powers without killing her? I'm so excited to see where this show goes next.

There were three moments in the last few minutes that really gave this episode the extra spring in its step.

- Jordan, Tess and Kevin learning that someone (presumably who took the promicin) just cured their relative of Alzheimer's. The entire episode had focused on the negatives of the promicin and the people who had died from taking it, but this scene gave a little glimmer of hope. It made me smile, and it kind of restored my faith in Jordan. After all, the future told Tom to kill Isabelle, not Jordan. Maybe he knows what he's doing? Then again, maybe he just got lucky. That's the beauty of this show; it doesn't always present clear good and evil, but many gray shades in between. This is certainly the case with Jordan and the promicin.

- The final words of the episode, "How about you? 50-50. You want the shot?" What a chill-inducing moment, and to make it the final moment - sheer brilliance! Of course, it begs the obvious question, would you take the shot?

- And my favorite moment of the episode... Diana and Tom's goodbye. And not because I want them together, we all know I'm over that possibility (Diana and Ben all the way!!), but because it was tender and it was real. These two have formed a bond that transcends their professional partnership. They have each other's backs no matter what with no questions asked, and I have always loved that about them. There was a real sadness to the scene, and it was reflected beautifully in both Jacqueline McKenzie's teary-eyed goodbye and Joel Gretsch's strong, understanding advice. It was a beautiful moment that ended with a real hug - one that showed the emotion and care behind their friendship.

These are just my preliminary, thrown-together thoughts on tonight's incredible hour of television. Be sure to tune in this Tuesday for PTR's complete review of the finale and the show's awesome third season. And don't forget, tomorrow I'll have complete Emmy coverage (including a big Hell Yeah! to Mariska Hargitay for just walking away with the win!!!). Plus, all the latest television news.


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